More than 90 dead as twin attacks leave Norway reeling

Police say more than 90 people have been killed after twin attacks in Norway, one in the capital Oslo and another at a political party's youth camp on a nearby island.

A 32-year-old Norwegian man is thought to have opened fire on teenagers at the Labour Party youth camp on Utoya island shortly after detonating a huge explosion outside the prime minister's office in the capital on Friday afternoon (local time).

Norwegian police said at least 84 people had been killed on the island alone and said the attacks had taken on "catastrophic dimensions".

Witnesses described how the gunman, who was dressed as a policeman, kicked wounded people in the head to check if they were still alive before shooting them dead.

Terrified campers cowered behind walls and jumped into the water to escape the carnage.

"As of now we have 84 dead at Utoya," deputy police chief Roger Andresen told a news conference. "In Oslo, with the explosion and the impact it had, we are not yet sure if [the toll of seven] is final."

Previously, police had said that at least 10 people had been killed at Utoya, along with seven killed by the bomb which left large areas of central Oslo in ruins.

Undetonated explosives were found on the island and police warned residents to stay home as there could be more explosives hidden in Oslo's city centre.

"He was very near. I heard a big boom and for a second I couldn't hear anything in my left ear. But I didn't think I was shot because it felt like something just hit me and peeled off. But it turned out I was shot pretty badly.

"He tried everyone, he kicked them to see if they were alive, or he just shot them.

"From what I saw he had one thing on his mind.

"Many of these bodies are laying in the water and drifting around the island.

"The shooting started at 5:00pm. The meeting we had was just half an hour sooner, so when the shooting started, from 5:00pm it was maybe two hours before we saw police, before they were circling with the helicopter and they had the situation under control.

Mr Pracon said he jumped into the water to swim for safety but turned around when he saw that the opposite shore was around 700 metres away.

"I swam back because I saw it was impossible for me to swim over. I'm very glad I did.

"Some of my friends tried to stop him by talking to him. Many people thought that it was a test ... comparing it to how it is to live in Gaza. So many people went to him and tried to talk to him, but they were shot immediately."

Search for survivors

As night fell boats continued to search for survivors in the water, with spotlights sweeping the coast and helicopters flying overhead.

"I just saw people jumping into the water, about 50 people swimming towards the shore. People were crying, shaking, they were terrified," said Anita Lien, 42, who lives by Tyrifjord lake, a few hundred metres from Utoya.

"They were so young, between 14 and 19 years old."

Survivor Jorgen Benone, who was on the island at the time, said: "I saw people being shot. I tried to sit as quietly as possible. I was hiding behind some stones. I saw him once, just 20, 30 metres away from me. I thought 'I'm terrified for my life', I thought of all the people I love."

"A man in police uniform called young people, telling them: 'Come here', and then executed them," a witness told national broadcaster NRK.

Another witness said he saw at least 20 bodies after the shooting.

"I've seen it with my own eyes, at least 20 dead people lying in the water", Andre Skeie, 26, said.

Mr Skeie had gone to the island on his boat to help people evacuate the island.

"I received an SMS that said: 'There is gunfire, I am hiding,' said the father of a girl attending the summer camp.

"We communicated by SMS. She told me not to call so as not to give away her hiding place."

Oslo in ruins

The attack in Oslo left the area around the explosion a picture of urban desolation, with building skeletons left standing after an explosion heard kilometres away.

With police advising people to evacuate central Oslo, and some soldiers taking up positions on the streets, the usually sleepy capital was gripped by fear of fresh attacks. Streets were strewn with shattered masonry, glass and twisted steel.

Witnesses described the ground shaking like an earthquake as the bomb blast rang out through the city like heavy thunder.

Police set up a cordon around the blast zone to keep the public away and heavy machinery was being used to clean up the debris.

Police confirmed a bomb was behind the blast which tore through the government quarter which is home to the prime minister's office, the finance ministry and some of the country's leading media.

There were no reports of any senior government officials being killed or wounded.

"We can confirm that we have seven dead and two have been seriously injured" in the bomb attack, a police spokesman told reporters at a briefing in Oslo.

"It is the most violent event to strike Norway since World War II," said Geir Bekkevold, an opposition parliamentarian for the Christian Peoples Party.

Police said they believed the two attacks were connected.

"There are good reasons to believe that there is a link between the events," police commissioner Sveinung Sponheim told reporters in Oslo.

Oslo's mayor Fabian Stang said the capital was struggling to come to terms with the idea that it had joined the list of cities targeted by bombers.

"Today we think about those people living in New York and London who have experienced this kind of thing," he told Britain's Sky News

"I do not think it is possible for us to understand what has happened today but hopefully we will be able to go on and that tomorrow Oslo will be a peaceful city again."

The EU condemned the attacks as "acts of cowardice" and the NATO chief denounced the attacks as "heinous".

Prime Minister Julia Gillard extended her sympathies to Norway and said Australia would help "in any way we can".

Australians with concerns for family or friends in Norway can contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's emergency consular phone service on 1300 555 135.